Lynx hire Lindsay Whalen as assistant coach on Cheryl Reeve’s staff

After years of serving as the Lynx’s coach on the floor, Lindsay Whalen will now be a Lynx coach on the bench.

The Hall of Fame guard is joining Minnesota as an assistant coach under Cheryl Reeve, the team announced Saturday.

The Lynx also added Eric Thibault as the team’s associate head coach. Thibault served as the Mystics’ head coach for the past two years after spending the previous 10 years on Washington’s staff working under his dad, Mike. Thibault is the brother of current Fairfield coach Carly Thibault, who worked on Whalen’s staff at the University of Minnesota. Eric Thibault was let go by Washington after the most recent season.

He will fill the role vacated by Katie Smith, who left the organization after the season to join her alma mater, Ohio State, as an assistant coach.

But Whalen is the headliner of Saturday’s news. After she was fired by the U after five seasons heading the program at her alma mater without an NCAA Tournament appearance, it was unclear if Whalen would ever get back into coaching. She has spent the last 18 months away from the occupation, but has remained an ardent supporter of the Lynx in that time, sitting courtside for a number of games and even flying to New York for Game 5 of the WNBA Finals in October.

And now the Hutchinson, Minn., native rejoins the organization where she won four WNBA titles as a player — all under Reeve’s tutelage — in an official capacity. Her jersey hangs in the Target Center rafters. She is the franchise’s all-time leader in assists (1,384). Whalen joins a staff already featuring her longtime Lynx teammate, Rebekkah Brunson.

“I’m so excited to be back with the Lynx and back with Coach and Becky,” Whalen said in a release. “Eric and I have also known each other for a long time, and for me, I couldn’t imagine joining a better staff as I return to coaching and get my first opportunity to coach in the WNBA. We have a special group with this team, and I can’t wait to get to work.”

“I am excited to add both Eric and Lindsay to our coaching staff,” Reeve said in a statement. “Eric has vast experience coaching in the WNBA as both a head and an assistant coach and is a WNBA champion. Lindsay adds a unique perspective as a Lynx legend and Naismith Hall of Famer. I look forward to working with both in our quest for another WNBA championship.”